Fantastic Mr Fox (PG)
By Simon Reed
Does what it says on the tin.
Where- At my local Independent Cinema (Wimborne Tivoli)
Plot?
Mr F Fox is being hunted down by three local businessmen for stealing their produce, and must find ways of continually avoiding them.
Thoughts?
Wes Anderson doesn’t do mainstream. In fact it’s hard to find anything nearing cookie cutter in any of his films.
Obsessed with minor details alongside a penchant for laid back dialogue and characters, his attempt at a ‘kids’ film was always going to be interesting.
The result? A kids film that isn’t for kids. This is the films biggest strength and flaw.
Instead of dumbing down his dialogue for a younger audience, Anderson has simply made it come out of furry mouths in place of human ones.
Best described as intelligent and thoughtful, at worst over elaborate and smug, the discourse that floods over this film is an acquired taste indeed.
But for Wes devotees this is a dream come true. It may even win over people unsure of Anderson’s previous work, thanks to it considerably lighter tone. This is helped by the charmingly ramshackle stop motion. Yes, it’s even lighter than Tenenbaums, Zissou, Bottle Rocket or Darjeeling.
There’s none of the clumsy action of Zissou, uneven pace of Darjeeling or the slow story of Rocket. At only 90 minutes long this film is snappy, colourful, coherent and engaging.
This means that, ironically, in trying to make a kids film, Anderson has actually succeeded in making his most accessible adult film yet. But unfortunately kids will most likely be underwhelmed.
What isn’t underwhelming is the star studded voice cast. The mix of Clooney, Streep, Murray, Schwartzman, Gambon, Dafoe, (Owen) Wilson and, er, Jarvis Cocker could be overwhelming, but it ends up working quite well.
Anderson’s easygoing methods has seemingly spread across the cast, meaning no-one ends up dominating and unbalancing the film. Performances are subtle and satisfying.
A small exception is Wilem Dafoe as a murderous, dancing rat, but as he is involved in one of the best deaths scenes ever (seriously) you can let it slide.
Hopefully with this new experience under his belt Anderson can finally make a completely coherent and satisfying live action movie, without surrendering his unique style. But even if he doesn’t his films will still be some of the most intriguing, idiosyncratic and imaginative around.
Verdict?
As a childrens film it’s a failure, but for the older crowd it’s a understated winner. (4/5)
Go Further?
- Owen Wilson has a small cameo as a Gym teacher, but where’s his brother and Wes mainstay Luke?
- Try to go to a late night viewing with the least amount of kids present if possible…in my showing the youngsters grew a little restless with all the quirky dialogue, and became quite distracting.
- This isn’t Anderson’s first crack at animation. Check out the underwater scene at the end of the Life Aquatic.
Trailer?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2igjYFojUo
